Sir Max Aitken
(who would become Lord Beaverbrook), a 39 year
old Canadian had been serving as a British Member of Parliament
since 1910. He returned to Canada in 1914 and offered his service
to the Canadian government. Beaverbrook secured for himself the
position of “Canadian Eye Witness”
with the responsibility of reporting the activities of the Canadian
Expeditionary Force.

The Canadian War Records Office (CWRO) was established
by Beaverbrook in London as a way of documenting Canadian activities
during the war and bringing those activities to the attention
of the Canadian and British public.

Primarily the CWRO’s
purpose was to garner support for the war and to encourage volunteers
to join the Canadian forces. This was considered an important
task as conscription did not occur in Canada until 1917.

In November 1916, Beaverbrook also established the Canadian
War Memorials Fund (CWMF) to be administered by the CWRO.
He recognized the importance of films and photographs for use
in propaganda but felt that they couldn't capture the full truth
about the war.

He wrote “only paintings could provide the most permanent
and vital form in which the great deeds of the Canadian Nation
in the war could be enshrined for posterity”. (pg
23, Tippett)

St. Jacques, Ypres
By Lieut. C. H. Barraud

A powerful etching of
Ypres in the days of transition (May 4, 1916), after the
early bombardments and before the entire city was reduced
to a succession of rubble heaps with only a solitary wall
a few feet high standing here and there. Nothing now remains
of St. Jacques.

The CWMF became a system
of patronage with Beaverbrook turning to artists and illustrators
to document Canadian subjects. Artists that participated were
deemed to be the “King’s Guests”
and were given honorary commissions in the Canadian Corps and
salaries from the Canadian Government. Expenses were covered by
the CWRO.

This eventually led to the hiring of more than one hundred artists
of many different nationalities and to the creation of hundreds
of oil paintings, sketches, etchings, sculptures and watercolours
depicting activities at the front as well as war related activities
at home.

Beaverbrook’s initial
expectation was that the contracted artists would all be British.
He soon realized that there were Canadian artists with significant
talent and they were soon contributing to the CWMF’s collection.
Though Canadian artists were in the minority they acquitted themselves
well with many memorable images being created by artists such
as A. Y. Jackson, David Milne, Maurice Cullen, F. H. Varley and
Arthur Lismer.

Beaverbrook wanted eyewitness
records that were created spontaneously from sketches drawn on
the spot; he therefore encouraged his artists to roam the front
lines with freedom to go almost wherever they wanted. However,
much to his frustration, only 4 artists were allowed at the front
at any given time. This restriction remained in place until the
beginning of 1918 when the number was raised to six.

This meant that many artists were
held back and had to reconcile themselves to sketching behind
the lines where they could be arrested as spies, bombed by German
aircraft or experience the German artillerie's interest in a particular
area they had chosen to sketch.

The Road to Ypres Through VlamertingheBy Lieut. C. H. Barraud

This village lies on the main Ypres-Poperinghe road about midway between the
desert of Ypres and the half inhabited town of Poperinghe.
Night and day traffic of war rumbled through it. This is
a fine strong composition etched on a zinc plate, and somewhat
suggestive in quality of the rich wood cuts of past ages.

The creation of CWMF was
not the beginning of war artistry as many artists from the fighting
armies sketched for reconnaissance purposes or just to while away
the time. They designed honour rolls and war posters and donated
pictures to worthy causes.

However the CWMF did offer the opportunity
for many artists to complete work in different mediums when to
do so might have been considered an unsuitable way of spending
time and resources.

The Barrier, Mont St. Eloy
By Lieut. C. H. Barraud

Up to the date of the
capture of Vimy Ridge, April 9th, 1917, the "Barrier"
was the furthest point to which troops were allowed to go
in daylight.

This is a delightfully
delicate etching giving a view of Vlamertinghe from the
South-West. The sketch for this etching was made in August,
1917, and the artist has faithfully recorded the beauty
of the scene.